49 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Zero stars. Thin, obvious "mystery." Heavy padding from past books. Abrupt, summarized conversation. Qwill at his most dismissive and arrogant. The casual one or two line reporting of the deaths of two long-time characters. I have been a fan for 25 years, have all the books, have been mourning the gradual decline in quality of this series, but this one is so poor it actually made me mad. Save your money.

I am a a big fan of the "Cat Who..." series of books, but this one was a disappointment for me. It was okay, but not up to Ms Braun's usual standards. It had a different feel to it, and I'm not sure she really wrote this whole book itself. Its just not her style.

Another good mystery with Jim Qwuilleran and his extraordinary Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. When Qwillhas to entertain Harvey Ledfield, an aspiring architect, he has to deal with Koko's strange behavior and Qwill better brush up on his paw language because Harvey's aunt and uncle have gone missing.

Mrs. Braun has given the mystery lovers a wonderful series, and I am most grateful, but it's time to stop! This is the absolute worst of the last 5 or 6 in the series. Her work has gotten progressively less interesting, less mysterious, less erudite and less believable. Time to step away from the typewriter...

This series is a great set of short readers. I love how the author makes the cats come alive with all of their shenannigans they get into and how the cats "help" solve crimes. If you have cats, you'll know what she is talking about! This is a good one for a rainy Sunday afternoon and a cup of tea in your favorite chair!

I was a little irritated by this book - all of the earlier Cat Who books had a fairly decent plot line in regards to a mystery. The entire mystery of this book really seemed to involve about 10 pages total of the entire book. The rest was devoted to the sescentiennial celebration of Pickax. There wasn't much about KoKo and Yum Yum either.

I don't recommend this book if you are looking for a good mystery. If you want something about the goings on of Pickax this is the one for you.

This one of the Cat Who series written by Lilian Jackson Braun and like all the others was a delightful read! I adore the main characters, Jim Qwilleran and his two siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. Mr Q., as Jim is lovingly called is a newspaper reporter in the small town of Pickaxe. He often finds himself in the middle of a mystery and solves it with the aid of Koko and Yum Yum. In this book Koko picks up a new habit by dropping on people unnannounced. One of his victims turns out to be a murderer. Also Pickaxe is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding, so there are parades, antique auctions, cat auctions, theater events and much more happening. This is a wonderful, light cozy mystery. It's perfect for a rainy day or any day.

A little better than some of the other recent reads, though you definitely can't just pick this one up and read it if you aren't familiar with the series. In case you do - Wetherby Goode is the stage name of Joe Bunker. Ms. Braun uses the two interchangably without explaining that. Koko is dropping more clues than he has in a while, but the series is still not quite the same. :(

While the town of Pickax is swept up in its sesquicentennial celebrations, Koko has developed a strange new hobby: He drops himself from balconies, occasionally landing in the oddest of places. When a young man comes to visit his wealthy relatives, Koko plummets straight onto his head! Meanwhile, a hurricane is brewing, and the visitor's family members soon fall deathly ill. Qwill has his work cut out for him as Pickax-as foreshadowed by Koko-is about to be hit by a bombshell.

The PBS site lists this book in the "Mystery & Thrillers" genre. It should also be listed as "Children". If I had been between the ages of 9 and 14, I would have been delighted with this book. It is an easy read, very light = VERY light. Barely any plot, the emphasis was on everybody's pet cats in the town, especially Koko and Yum Yum. Not much depth. Very childish story, with silly names for people and even for the newspaper. Great for preteens. D.

I love all of the books in the series. I get started, and then can't put the book down until I finish it! I can picture Koko, and sweet Yum Yum, doing what cats do, and then some. My cat may not be smart like Koko, but she is sure like Yum Yum. these two cats are the best! And Mr. Q, well, I can picture him in my mind, trying to figure out what Koko has to say, to solve any crime!

My neighbor did some spray painting and the smell was something else. I grabbed a coat and left. But it was 11 pm, I live in a small town, and I hadn't brought any entertainment, so I stopped by the little free library and picked up this book, which seemed like the best bet. I think I made the wrong choice.

This book is sincerely awful. If it's supposed to be a mystery, it is lacking both suspense and resolution. If it's supposed to be a small town drama, it's missing any sort of appealing characters. If it's supposed to be a silly, relaxing read, there's a lot of (truly random) death. I cannot for the life of me think who the target audience could possibly be- all I know is that it isn't me.

NOTE: this book takes less time to read than my workshop takes to air out, and I read the whole thing, came home disappointed, and was yet more disappointed to discover that the place still smelled of paint

The is the second to last in the famous "cat who..." series and not her greatest by far. This book was very disjointed and jumped around from plot to plot and character to character with no real continuity. I was disappointed in the ending as well. Several plots were just left hanging. Still a good read, but not her best effort.

I have been listening to this series out of order and it doesn't seem to matter. The reader is very talented. I am glad I am listening to this series and I have not had time to read these books. This makes the cats and Mr Q just come alive when someone does the voices and inflections.